UNIVERSITY CENTER, MI — After making history with their first GAC/MIAA Tournament Title, Southern Nazarene headed north to Michigan for another milestone: their first ever NCAA Tournament appearance.
In the opening round of the tournament, the Crimson Storm (12-6-3) were stumped by the aggressive offense of Lake Erie (12-7-3) whose 11 total shots and seven shots on goal were enough to outscore SNU by four in the final 4-0 victory.
Lake Erie set the pace quickly, punching a goal in the 6th minute to take the early 1-0 lead. Southern Nazarene fought to get on the board, but LEC extended their lead in the 20th minute, scoring another goal to push past SNU now at 2-0.
Southern Nazarene controlled the offensive possessions, looking for every opportunity to cut LEC's lead. Shots by Bruno Ferreira, Eric Romero, and Haraei Maeda were fired, but all were just shy of the goal. Lake Erie maintained their defense and pressure and sent the 2-0 score into halftime.
In the 61st minute, SNU committed a foul inside the restricted area, allowing Lake Erie a chance at a penalty kick. LEC put just enough power behind the ball to land it into the back of the net, scoring another goal to extend their lead to 3-0.
Southern Nazarene could not seem to get away from the fouls, committing another in the 65th minute to award LEC their second penalty kick of the match. Lake Erie put up another great ball that sunk inside the goal once more, growing their lead to 4-0 with just under 25 minutes left in the game.
Southern Nazarene continued to fight, turning up their defense and looking for any offensive gains with the time remaining. Unaiz Shajani, Ferreira, and Okazaki would fire a couple in search of a goal, but couldn't get anything to land inside. With just under 15 minutes left, Daniel Trojman, Romero, and Nathaniel Mederos each contributed on the offensive end with shots as well, but all were off the mark.
There was not enough time left to break open the scoring seal, and Southern Nazarene fell short to LEC with a final 4-0 score.
Trojman finished with two shots on goal while Ferreira and Okazaki each tallied a shot on goal.
This marks the end of the epic run made by Men's Soccer. In the 2022 season, Trevor Harmon and his squad accomplished a 12-6-3 record that lifted them to a GAC/MIAA Regular Season title along with a GAC/MIAA Tournament title. SNU's tournament title was the first achieved in the DII era along with their first NCAA Tournament appearance. The team will look to build upon these successes through the offseason and into next fall.
